Indoor Soccer

We decided to participate in another round of soccer with Alex. This time, it's indoor soccer. It's so fun! The game is much more fast paced, because the ball stays in play the whole time...no kicking it out of bounds. The only time the game really stops is after a goal is scored. Alex seems to really enjoy himself at practice and the games. And I'm glad to still have him in a structured activity a couple times a week. He is playing with his same coach from spring, so that is fun as well!

This was his first game of the season...it was kinda tough to get a good picture. But the one above you can see his smile..he really likes playing, especially goalie!

End of School Party

I guess the second time you do something, it becomes a tradition. Last year, we celebrated Cadence's last day of school at Chuck E Cheese. Cadence specifically asked for cupcakes for our "party." We decided to do it again this year with Alex and Cadence. It was fun to celebrate the end of the school year, and the beginning of summer vacation! Just look at all these happy faces!

And the good times begin!

First Day/Last Day

First day of Kindergarten:

Last day of Kindergarten:

They grow up so fast!

Kindergarten Graduation

Alex's last day of school was Friday, June 3rd. His class had a little graduation ceremony, where his teacher highlighted each student's accomplishments. The really fun part of the graduation was that she created individual awards for each student, and Alex's was the "Mini Sportscaster Award." She talked about how Alex came in nearly every day with a sports update...the score from the Stars game, how the Rangers were playing, news on the basketball games. Luckily, his teacher is also a pretty big sports fan, so she really enjoyed his daily sports updates. Here's a few pictures from his last day of kindergarten (sniff, sniff!!)Here is Alex and Mrs. Stapleton. I have so much love and respect for all kindergarten teachers, especially now after having one of my babies go through kindergarten. Mrs. Stapleton was fantastic! I don't think we could have hoped for a more perfect match for Alex. We had actually requested a different teacher for Alex at the beginning of the school year, but Alex was placed in Mrs. Stapleton's class instead. It's funny how things work out though. When I walked into Mrs. Stapleton's room, and saw all the baseball decorations in her room, I knew they would be two peas in a pod! And they were! Alex grew and learned so much! I'm so grateful to Mrs. Stapleton and all her hard work this past year. Now, we've got our eyes forward to 1st grade!

Book Parade

The last week of school was a really busy, fun week for Alex at school. One thing he participated in was the annual book parade. This was really, really cute! Each class at his school picked a book to represent in the book parade. The classes made all kinds of "floats" that illustrated their books. Each class had six students that could march in the parade. The students were picked based on good citizenship. I was so proud when Alex's teacher let me know that Alex was picked to walk in the parade for his class! Such a proud moment to know that your child is a good citizen at school: makes you feel like you're doing something right as a parent!

And Alex was so, so excited to participate in the parade. He came home a couple weeks before the parade telling me all about it, the book they picked, how he was supposed to get dressed up. It was really sweet to see him so excited!

Um, could you tell he was excited!?! The book his class chose was Bingo, so all the kids were dressed up as farmers. Alex wore the whole nine yards: boots, Wranglers, shirt, hat, bandanna!

Here's his class on the "parade route," aka the drive thru lane at the front of the school.

Originally, Alex's teacher wanted him to walk her dog in the parade. Then she thought her dog might be too hyper for the parade, so she opted for a stuffed version of a dog. Too bad because Alex was stoked to walk her dog!
Here he is at the end of the parade route. I thought this was such a fun idea that the librarian started at Alex's school. She was a great lady, and retired this year. At the end of the parade, all the classes displayed signs saying, "We Love You Ms. Pike!" It was so sweet, and the librarian was really touched! Such a fun morning!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

We have started a summer tradition of going to at least one Ranger's game with Alex. He looks forward to it every season! Once Alex starts hearing or seeing advertisements for the Rangers games, he starts asking Roger and me about going to one. This year, we bought tickets on Mansfield ISD night, with the tickets being nearly half price. It was such a deal! Unfortunately, Alex wasn't feeling great at the game, but I think he made the best of it and enjoyed himself.

Alex likes to eat his hotdog, then the bun.

There's no crying in baseball!

The kids also enjoyed playing some games while at the ballpark. It was a hot, but fun night. We left early in the ninth inning because the game was tied. The game ended up going way, way late into the night. So we were glad we left when we did. It was a fun night!

Out with the Old, In with the New

I'm trying desperately to catch up on my blogging. I hate, hate when I get behind! May was so crazy busy. I think I say that about every month. In the midst of everything else we had going on (birthdays, Nana's visit, end of school craziness), Roger tore up our carpet and laid a wood floor in our living room. He's been wanting to get rid of that stupid, cheap, builder grade carpet for years. So we finally did! Here are a few pictures of the transformation.
Ah, the wood floor is so beautiful! Even better than I had imagined. And so far, we've only broken one glass, and had only a couple falls on the new floor. It's a little more slick than carpet! But well worth it!

Colored Bubbles or Jackson Pollock

The kids and I went to a birthday party a couple weeks ago. We decided the buy the birthday boy some new art supplies for the summer. While we were in the art aisle at Target, the kids saw colored bubbles. I had read online some not so great reviews about the colored bubbles. But out of curiosity and weakness (Addison was begging me to buy them!), I caved and bought two bottles: a blue one and a pink one. We went outside Sunday afternoon to play with them. They were the biggest mess!!! The colored bubbles got all over everything! Hands, face, clothes, EVERYTHING!!! As you blew them, wherever the bubbles landed and popped, that spot would change colors as well. So my OCD self couldn't tolerate the colored bubbles very well. I guess it would be fine if the kids were in bathing suits and you could hose them down after they played with them. As annoying as I found them, the kids seemed to really enjoy playing with them. Look at these happy, messy faces! And hands!

So note to self: In the future, when a product receives bad reviews from other parents: HEED those warnings and bad reviews, and opt not to purchase the product. Or find a happy place, and tolerate the mess! Speaking of happy places, those bubbles have found a new happy, and well hidden home :)

Spring Field Trip at the Zoo

May has been a busy, busy month for us! Addison's birthday kicked off the month, and we also had Nana here for a visit. We always enjoy having her visit, and one of our traditions is taking her to the zoo. So I was a little sad when she called me before she came to tell me that she didn't think she could walk the zoo this time. Nana has had some issues with her back, and it's affected her ability to walk for extended lengths of time. But we managed to get her to the zoo, with the help of a wheel chair! Alex had his spring field trip to the zoo, and Nana and Roger came along too.

By the time the buses parked, the kids de-bused, everyone got their tickets, and we got inside the zoo, it was nearly 10:30, which is the normal lunch time for the kindergartners. So Alex's teacher suggested to the kids that they go ahead and eat lunch, and then see the animals. This was such a genius idea, in my opinion. This ensured the kids were fueled and happy before we started trekking through the zoo. So our first stop was the picknic tables! Everyone ate lunch and took a potty break. Then we started working our way through the zoo. We really only had about 2 or 2 1/2 hours in the zoo. ALex's teacher did an amazing job of hearding the kids along and managed to get them from one end of the zoo to the other before they had to leave. It was exhausting though! I'm used to leisurely walking the zoo, and I was beat by the time we left! Everyone had fun though, and that's what counts. Roger did tell me that he passed the school buses on the way home. And they saw Alex asleep on the bus. I guess it was fun, but exhausting for everyone!

Sing-A-Long Stories

On Addison's birthday, she had her spring program at her preschool. These programs are so stinkin' cute! The kids go up on the big stage by class, and sing two songs. This year, they did songs that incorporated movement and learning. Addison's class sang "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." It was really cute, but the best part was having Nana here to see it. She's never been in town when the kids have had one of these little programs, so I was so happy that she could be there! I think Nana really enjoyed herself too! And I know it was really special for Addison.

Addison with her class, the Tiny Tigers. They are so sweet!

At the end of the program, all the classes went on stage and sang a finale. Addison was so happy to see a familiar face in the crowd!

Nana, Roger and Addison. This was the best shot with Addison...she wasn't too thrilled about taking pictures.

Addison was happy to take some pictures outside by the fountain.

And Many More!

Wow, the month of May is flying by! But not without celebrating my sweet baby girl's third birthday! Many times during these first few years of Addison's life, I have wondered if we'd make it to the next birthday. And I'm not saying that in a moment of frustration or weakness. It has been a lot of work to get her to where she is today. So I'm happy to say that each birthday is truly a celebration! And celebrate we did!

Addison hasn't ever really had a birthday party with friends. In the past, we've always just done small parties with family. So I decided this year to have a party for her at Chuck E Cheese. We invited her best friends: her life-long friend, Lacey, and her cousin, Caitlin. Alex was there of course, and her other cousin Cadence. And then we had some family, and family friends there as well. It was a really fun time, and I think Addison really enjoyed herself!

When I asked Addison what kind of birthday cake she wanted, she told me Little Mermaid. So this is her cake. It turned out so darling! And tasted good too! I was so relieved after the debacle with Alex's birthday cake. Addison had a really fun time playing with her friends, eating pizza and enjoying her Little Mermaid cake. So far, 3 has been really fun! And here's to many, many more!

Easter 2011

Alex told me this past Saturday that Easter is almost better than Christmas! Wow! That's pretty big! We had a really fun Easter this year. I think what made it extra special was having Grandma and Papa there this time. We also had Aunt Patty and Uncle Michael, who we haven't seen since Christmas. Truly, the more the merrier, especially in our family.

Easter Eve, Alex wanted to leave carrots and water out for the Easter Bunny. So we had that all ready for EB. Easter morning, Alex kinda squeled with excitement when he woke up and discovered that the EB had eaten the carrots! After the initial excitement wore off, we got ourselves ready for church. After church, we headed to Grandma and Papa's house for Easter lunch and of course, the EGG HUNT!!!!

The kids are all ready for the Easter Egg Hunt! So exciting. The Garden of Eden, what we affectionately call my mom and dad's yards, was covered in Easter eggs!

And she's off!

And she's eating!

Alex was super serious about his egg hunting!

Woa, the EB was generous this year!

We really enjoyed our Easter. After the egg hunt, we pigged out on a super yummy lunch before Grandma and Papa headed back to Chicago. What a great holiday we had!